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The flowers
you can see here are those of the Elder tree, but it's not the Elder
that we are focussing on here - it's the strange, brown fungi that are
growing on one of its dying branches. They look exactly like wrinkled
ears. They are soft and jelly-like to the touch. Most people avoid them,
but if you pick some and take them home then they are safe to eat and
can be added to a stew.* They don't improve the flavour, but they can
have quite an interesting effect on unsuspecting guests when they see
what appear to be ears floating in their gravy!
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JUDAS
Why are these
things in our Easter Garden? They grow throughout the year, not
just at Easter and, in any case, they couldn't be described as
a flower. The answer lies in their name. For scientists they are
known as Auricularia auricula (from the Latin name for 'ears', as in 'aural'). In Britain the common name is 'Jew's Ears'.
This terrible nickname dates from the Middle Ages when many people
thought that Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, hanged himself
on an Elder Tree - and this fungus grows mainly on dead and dying
Elders. The story of how Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of
silver, and then killed himself, can be found in St Matthew's
Gospel. When Judas saw that he had caused Jesus' death he "threw
the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged
himself."
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THINKING
ABOUT PREJUDICE
Who knows
what motivated Judas? How do we know we would never betray our
friends or our beliefs? Lent is a time when Christians reflect
on their own failings, and the very name of this small fungus
hints at a darker side in Christian history. For example, in the
Middle Ages people saw Jewish people as different. They were thought
of as the ones who betrayed Jesus - people forgot that Jesus himself
was a Jew, and so were many of the early Christians. Unthinking
hostility to Jews was deep and widespread. It came to a head in
our own times with Hitler and his attempt to annihilate the Jewish
people. Tragically, it took this event to force Christian churches
to confront their own betrayal of Jesus' teachings. One organisation
that emerged from this process is the Council of Christians and
Jews, founded in England in 1942 "to fight the evils of prejudice,
intolerance and discrimination between peoples of different religions,
races and colours, and to work for the betterment of human relations,
based on mutual respect, understanding and goodwill." A good resolution
for Easter!
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*
WARNING
Only do this, of course, if you are absolutely sure of their identity.
They can be dried on a piece of paper for later use if you are not sure
or if you don't want to use them straight away.
back to the garden
© 2001 Culham/Reep/Lazenby Education
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